Zack's Suspicions
by SprouseGoose
Summary: Another summer one shot that takes place after the trip to New Haven. Zack has finally returned back to Boston, will he figure out what happened?


I own no characters except the ones I create.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter, I decided to do something a little bit different. You'll understand at the end of the story.**

Zack Martin found himself sitting on the same couch he had sat on thousands of times before. Flipping channels on the same TV had spent numerous hours in front of. He was back in Boston. The first half of his summer had flown by way too quickly. And as he sat there, one thing was on his mind. He missed Cassie. The past month had been great. Getting to hang out without the weight of homework or classes or jobs or Mr. Moseby hanging around their necks. It had been the most fun he'd had in his entire life. Of course, that thought made him pause. Did he truly understand now how his younger brother had felt when he met Bailey? Zack shuddered. Did that mean he was going to be the one coming up with pet names and making public declarations of his affections? Zack chewed on that thought for a while. Would it be that bad?

Zack's thoughts were interrupted by the door of the suite opening and Cody and Bailey coming in laughing about something. It took them several seconds to notice he was there. And when they finally did, both gave him a hug and said it was good to see him again. Was that it? Was that all the welcome home he got? Zack paused though. He knew he had missed his brother while he was gone, but he knew that being with Cassie had eased that. Maybe that was the same here. Zack shook off those thoughts and took a good look at his brother and his girlfriend. Zack couldn't put his finger on it, but something was different about those two. They were affectionate with each other as always...maybe even more if possible he thought. Bailey excused herself and said she was going up to the penthouse to change out of her work clothes. Zack observed his brother whisper something into her ear and Bailey smile and playfully slap his shoulder. What was that all about?

Cody removed his jacked and began to loosen his tie. It was then Zack noticed something else. His brother now filled out his dress shirt more than Zack could ever remember. And when Cody unbuttoned it and removed it, Zack could notice that Cody's arms were more muscular than before.

"Dude!"

Cody looked over at his brother in confusion. "What?"

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you on HGH or something?"

Cody's look of confusion continued. "What are you talking about?"

"You've bulked up..."

Cody nods. "Yeah, Arwin and I have been hitting the gym while Mom and Bailey have been jogging in the evenings...Guess I'm finally seeing some results."

"I guess so...Made any other big decisions while I've been gone?" Zack couldn't help but notice the look on his brother's face when he said that. Zack knew that look. His brother was keeping something from him. But whatever was causing it, his brother was doing a good job of hiding it.

Cody paused. Could his brother see what had happened? Well, Zack was going to think whatever he wanted, but Cody wasn't going to confirm anything. "Well...sort of...Bailey and I went to New Haven last weekend and we think we've found a place for us to live."

Nice cover, Zack thought. His brother was getting better at being sneaky. But that wasn't what Zack thought was different. "Tell me about it..."

Cody nodded. "We took a video of it on my cell phone. Let me get changed, and I'll show it to you." Cody proceeded to grab his jacket and walk back into the suite's lone bedroom.

Zack sat back down on the couch and thought. He was certain now. His brother was hiding something from him. Zack smiled. He knew how to pull his brother's strings. It wouldn't be long before he found out what it is. What could it be though? It wasn't just Cody that stood out to him. Something was different about Bailey too. Zack thought to himself..."Could those two have..." Zack immediately shook his head. Not those two. But then Zack thought of something. The kiss those two had shared at Bailey's birthday party. He was egging them on as much as anyone, but he couldn't help but notice how heated the kiss was. All he had ever seen them do was the the soft gentle kisses...the same kind he and Cassie did. But was that kiss the first time things had escalated like that? Zack paused. Neither seemed to be embarrassed by it.

Cody came back out in a t-shirt and shorts. He pulled out his cell phone and played with it until he could find what he was looking for.

"Here...This is the place we found. And the funny thing is our landlord will be Tut's aunt and uncle."

Zack looked at his brother. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah...Small world, huh?"

Zack took his brother's phone and watched the video Cody had shot. "Looks like a nice place. You sure you can afford it?"

"Turns out, we're getting a heck of a deal. Seems Tut's aunt and uncle were young and in love when they went there and like to pay it forward to other young couples there."

"What did Mom or Bailey's parents say about it?"

"Well, they agree it looks good, but they want to be able to discuss it with us all in person when we go for Dad's wedding."

"So, besides this and working out, what have you been doing?"

Cody shrugs. "Mostly working. We have seen a few Sox games though..."

"Yeah? How do they look in person?"

Cody shakes his head. "I'm not sure what's wrong with them this year. Ortiz is hot and cold and everyone else seems to be getting hurt."

"What does Bailey think of Fenway?"

Cody smiles. "I think I'm real close to converting her."

"So, that's it? That's all you've done this summer?"

Cody raises his eyebrows. "Yeah...Why? I know its not as exciting as life on the road..."

"I just wanted to make sure..." Zack pauses. "You know Cody...We're brothers. You can tell me anything..."

"I know...Thanks, Zack..."

Zack sighs. Cody's gotten a lot tougher to crack he thought. But another idea popped into his mind. If he couldn't crack Cody, maybe he could crack Bailey. After all, she wasn't as used to his manipulations as his brother was.

Unfortunately for Zack, he really didn't get chance to for a while. When Bailey returned to the suite, she began to help Cody cook dinner. The smells of that food cooking made Zack forget that he was on a mission temporarily. He had truly missed his brother's cooking. And after dinner, Bailey and his mother left for their nightly jog. Zack shrugged. Maybe hitting the gym himself wouldn't be such a bad idea. After all, he didn't want Cody to be the brainy AND brawny twin.

On the 4th of July itself, he overheard Bailey talking to Cody how she and her sisters had always had sparklers growing up on the 4th of July. Cody had smiled and said he would keep that tradition alive for her. So, Zack watched as Cody kissed Bailey goodbye and went out to get some for her. Zack knew this was his chance.

"So, Bailey...I understand I owe you a congratulations..."

Bailey had been thinking about how sweet Cody was to do that for her. She was startled when Zack spoke. "Huh?"

"Cody told me the good news...That was certainly a big step for you two..."

Bailey had a look of confusion on her face. "Cody told you?"

"Of course, we're twins...we tell each other everything..."

Bailey pauses. Cody had promised her he wasn't going to say anything. Had he gone back on his word? "What exactly did he tell you?"

"Dang..." Zack thought. This wasn't going to be as easy he had hoped. Thinking on his feet, he took a shot in the dark. "He told me all about your trip to New Haven..."

Bailey paused again. Exactly how much about that trip to New Haven had Zack heard about. She wanted to believe that Cody had kept his word. But how to find out without accidentally letting slip what had happened if Cody hadn't told everything? "Yeah, we found a place to live there...It's really great."

Zack took a gamble. "I was talking about the other thing..."

Bailey begin to flush. She was praying now that Cody hadn't said anything. That was something special just between the two of them. Bailey answered nervously "I don't know what you are talking about..."

Zack grinned. He had her now. He was about to go in for the kill when the door of the suite open backed up again. Cody rushed back in. "Forgot my wallet..." He rushed back into bedroom of the suite, and Bailey immediately got up to follow him in there. Zack sighed. Great timing, little brother! He knew that whatever they were hiding from him, they were in that room discussing it right now. Oh well, he thought, on to Plan C.

Cody and Bailey both came out of the bedroom and stood in front of Zack. Zack could tell instantly that neither one of them looked happy. "Everything okay?"

Cody started. "Zack...what do you think you are doing?"

"What are you talking about, Broseph?"

"Bailey and I were just talking. Why have you been trying to interrogate us?"

Zack knew he was going to have to back off now. They were catching on to him. "Bro...I'm hurt. Why would I do anything like that?"

Cody's demeanor didn't change. "Because I know you...Now again, why are you trying to interrogate us?"

Zack sighed. Now he knew nothing he tried now would work. They were going to be on the lookout for anything. "Fine. Something is different about you two. I'm trying to figure out what it is!"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other. Cody turns back to Zack. "We're the same people we've always been..."

"That's not what I mean. I don't know what it is, but there is something very different about you two. And I'm going to find out what it is..."

Bailey sighs. "There is nothing different going on. We've found a place to live in New Haven and I guess we're both just happy that our plans for the future are falling into place for us..."

"Are you sure that's it?"

"What else would it be?"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I couldn't decide how I wanted to end this chapter, so I figured I'd let the viewers decide how this finishes. The first ending to get 7 votes (in private messages sent to me) will be how it really ends.**

_Alternate Ending #1_

Zack pauses. Maybe he had completely misread everything. Maybe it was just as they had said it was. Zack shakes his head. "I don't know...(he begins to chuckle)...I almost had the impression that you two had...you know...What was I thinking?"

Cody and Bailey just turned to each other on instinct. Zack's laughter ceased. He recognized that look of two conspirators. "Oh my God...YOU DID!"

Cody immediately flies to sit next to Zack and clamps his hand over Zack's mouth. Bailey sits on the other side of him. Cody finally calms Zack. "If I uncover your mouth, will you listen to us?" Zack nods.

Bailey sighs. "Alright, fine...we did."

Zack looks back and forth between his brother and his girlfriend. "Cody...you dog!"

Cody rolls his eyes. "No, I'm not a dog. I made love to the woman I love. There is nothing wrong with that..."

Bailey nods. "Right. All we did was show our love for each other. We aren't embarrassed about it, but we don't want it getting out."

Cody continues. "Zack, you have to promise us that you won't tell another living soul about this...If our relationship as brothers means anything to you, you will promise..."

Zack sighs. "Fine...Do I at least get any details?"

Cody shakes his head. "No. What happened stays between Bailey and I..."

Bailey continues. "All you need to know is that it was the most amazing night of our lives..."

Zack grins. "So, my little brother manned up?"

Cody just buries his face into his hands in embarrassment. Bailey gets up and sits next to him and rubs his shoulder. She turns to Zack and glares. "Yes, he did! He is all the man I will ever want or need! And that is the last we will say on the matter!"

Zack sits back and pauses. While he wanted to know more, he knew he wasn't going to get it. But that was surprisingly okay with him. He was proud of his brother. And he was happy for he and Bailey. Even though he had given them enough grief in the past, he did know they did truly love each other. He would never admit it, but he was truly one of their biggest supporters.

_Alternate Ending #2_

Zack pauses. Maybe he had completely misread everything. Maybe it was just as they had said it was. Zack shakes his head. "I don't know...(he begins to chuckle)...I almost had the impression that you two had...you know...What was I thinking?"

Cody laughs nervously. "Yeah, what were you thinking?"

Bailey does the same. "You have a very active imagination, Zack..."

Zack gets up. "I gotta go call Cassie. She'll never believe this either..." Zack begins laughing again. "I mean...she even thought you two might be ready..." With that, Zack heads out of the suite.

Bailey turns to Cody. "That was a close one..."

"I know...I didn't think it was that obvious...I mean, if Zack picked up on it, I wonder if anyone else has?"

"I don't know...What do we do?"

Cody pauses. "Nothing..."

Bailey is incredulous. "Nothing?"

Cody nods. "I don't want us to live our lives looking over our shoulders that someone is going to find out. I love you. I don't care if the whole world knows that. I won't tell anyone, but if someone finds out, I won't deny it. I could never deny something that was so wonderful..."

Bailey smiles. "I couldn't either...I wouldn't want to..."

Cody smiles. "So, we just keep living our lives and what we do is our own business..."

Bailey grins. "You're right...Our lives are just that...our lives...our relationship is what we want it to be..."

"And I wouldn't change a thing..."

"Neither would I..."

With that, Cody leans down and kisses Bailey again. It starts out very sweet and gentle but rapidly escalates. They both finally pull apart breathlessly. Bailey smiles at Cody. "You know, London is still in Milan...Why don't we forget the sparklers and go upstairs and make our own fireworks..."

Cody grins and grabs Bailey's hand to lead her out of the suite.


End file.
